Reynolds: No whiff of regret

Published 1:00 am, Sunday, October 4, 2009

Historically this is Sit Down Weekend in the major leagues. The less adventurous nurse .300 batting averages by inventing injuries or happily stepping aside so younger guys can play. Managers might sit players closing in on an ignominious mark — say, 30 errors for a fielder or, at least in years past, a run at the strikeout record for hitters.

In 2001, he got to 183 strikeouts with four games remaining, within six of Bobby Bonds' record that had stood since 1970. Brewers manager Davey Lopes sat him for all but two plate appearances in the final four games. Jerry Royster, Lopes' replacement, sat Hernandez for eight of the last 11 games in 2002 after he had reached 188.

Hernandez somehow made contact in his final 11 at-bats, leaving the record intact for Adam Dunn to break it with 195 in 2004. Ryan Howard took it to 199 the following season.

That brings us to Diamondbacks third baseman Mark Reynolds, who ran the record to 204 last season. He won't be sitting this weekend, which means he could become the first to reach 220.

As of Friday, Reynolds had 215 strikeouts. He also had a .903 OPS, 26th among major-league regulars, and was putting up rarely seen power-speed numbers.

When Reynolds struck out for the 205th time, breaking the record he set last season, he had a two-word response for reporters:

"So what?"

It's not that he doesn't care about the strikeouts. He's obviously sensitive to the attention they draw.

"A lot of people have the wrong idea about how I feel about the strikeouts," Reynolds said. "I don't enjoy it. But when I say I don't care, I mean I don't let it bother me. I go out there every day and give it hell. If I punch out, it pisses me off at that moment, but I'm not going to carry it to my next at-bat."

In an era of overanalysis and relentless coaching, the Diamondbacks deserve credit for trying not to reinvent Reynolds because of his strikeout totals. Sometimes living with a shortcoming isn't such a bad thing.